978-1-4222-3430-3

The major environmental feature of Western Sahara, the largest remaining NSGT, are the sand dunes of North Africa’s Sahara Desert.

Spain agreed to help prepare the region for self-government, but then, in 1975, signed an agreement with Morocco and Mauritania, both of which bordered on Western Sahara.The Madrid Agreement stated that Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania would jointly administer Western Sahara until its people chose to become self-governing. Although Spain soon left the area, Moroccan forces controlled the north part of the territory and Mauritanian forces controlled the south. Many of the native people, known as Sahrawis, left the area during this time and fled to Algeria. In Algeria,the independence party,called the Polisario,set up a government- in-exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, claiming control over Western Sahara.

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Chapter Five